Youngsters gain foothold on the U.S. women’s team
The U.S. Women’s National Team went into Monday night’s final CONCACAF W Championship group-play game against host Mexico already having clinched a spot in next year’s World Cup.
The Americans checked that box last week when they beat Jamaica and then watched Haiti beat Mexico.
They capped group play by outshooting Mexico 15-5 and holding possession 67 percent of the time in a 1-0 victory to win Group A. Kristie Mewis scored the lone goal in the 89th minute — while Mexico was a player down from a late red card — to push the Americans into the semifinals against Costa Rica on Thursday.
The tournament is serving as both a regional championship and as a qualifier for the World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics. The eightteam event will see its top two finishers in each four-team group automatically qualify for the World Cup, where the U.S. is the two-time defending champion.
The U.S. was the 12th nation to qualify along with South Korea, Japan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sweden, France, Denmark and Spain, before defending Olympic champion Canada clinched Friday. Hosts Australia and New Zealand receive automatic berths. Jamaica clinched a berth Monday night and will face Canada in the other semifinal.
But even with the World Cup berth clinched and the Americans on a roll — they won their first three W Championship games by a combined 9-0 — the U.S. finds itself entering an era of transition.
The group behind new head coach Vlatko Andonovski is a mix of international stage veterans and a cast of young players who represent the future of the program.
The team is headed by captain Becky Sauerbrunn (who just turned 37), Megan Rapinoe (37) and Alex Morgan (33). Eight players entered the W Championship with fewer than 10 games of international competition, and 13 are competing in their first World Cup or Olympic qualifying tournament.
It’s a different setting than the Americans had going into the 2019 World Cup, when 10 of the 11 starters from the 2018 CONCACAF tournament started the opener and finale. This time, it seems like the squad is still figuring out its identity.
The good news is, the young talent is making an impression.
Sofia Huerta, who picked up an assist against Jamaica, probably has seen her stock rise more than any other player across the tournament.
The 29-year-old fullback could crack the 23player World Cup roster given the group’s need at her position.
Sophia Smith, 21, scored twice in the win over Jamaica and was arguably the best player on the field.
“Regardless of what the game is going to be, regardless of what this game is going to look like or the next game is going to look like, she will be a starter for this team just because we know how good she is now and we can see her potential, how good she can be in the future,” Andonovski said.
Naomi Girma, Smith’s teammate on Stanford’s 2019 NCAA championship team, assisted on one her goals against Jamaica and also picked up an assist Monday night.
Trinity Rodman, 20, scored the fifth and final goal of the Americans’ win against Jamaica in her first appearance for the national team at a major tournament. The reigning NWSL Rookie of the Year, who became the youngest USWNT scorer in World Cup or Olympic qualifying since 2008, has been worked into the rotation slowly.
Goalkeeping still needs to be sorted out. Alyssa Naeher and Casey Murphy started a game each before the Mexico match, and Aubrey Kingsbury is also on the roster. Murphy started against Mexico.
Against Jamaica, while Rapinoe was on her way back from the White House after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the majority of the 2019 team was on the bench or not in attendance. Sam Mewis and Abby Dahlkemper are injured. Christen Press has a torn ACL, Julie Ertz is pregnant and Crystal Dunn recently gave birth. But it was a look at what the future of the USWNT could be.
While the top two teams in each group secure spots in the World Cup, only the CONCACAF tournament winner will earn an automatic Olympic berth, which is the United States’ next goal. The second- and third-place nations will meet in an Olympic playoff in September 2023.
The World Cup draw will take place in October, with 32 nations set to compete in 10 stadiums across Australia and New Zealand.